A new year, a fresh start together

We started our new school year this morning with our first whole-school assembly, thinking about one big question:

What kind of person do you want to be this year?

To help us think about this, we looked at the life of Dolly Parton. We talked about her extraordinary success — thousands of songs, Grammy Awards, millions of records sold and worldwide fame. But we then considered something perhaps even more important: when people reflected on her life, they didn't only talk about what she had achieved. They remembered her generosity, the way she encouraged others, how she used what she had to help people and, above all, her kindness.

That gave us a really important message for the year ahead: what we achieve matters, but who we are while we're achieving it matters too.

It links perfectly with our Sidlesham vision of Growing together in ambition, confidence and kindness. We want our children to be ambitious - to work hard, aim high and achieve things they are proud of. We want them to be confident - to be brave enough to have a go, make mistakes and keep trying. And alongside all of that, we want them to be kind.

We talked about how kindness is often found in the smallest moments: inviting someone to join a game, helping a new child, supporting someone when they make a mistake, celebrating somebody else's success or simply noticing when someone might need a friend.

With 139 children at Sidlesham, imagine the difference we can make if every one of us makes just one person's day a little better each day. That's the challenge we sent the children back to their classrooms with today.

So our message as we begin 2026–27 is a simple one:

Be ambitious. Be brave. Be kind.
Be someone who makes Sidlesham better because you're here.

What a lovely way to start our year together. ❤️